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What if Walt Disney was the producer of Looney Tunes/Looney Tunes Presents/The Looney Tunes Movie
The Looney Tunes Movie is a 1985 musical live-action/animated road comedy film and the first theatrical Looney Tunes which co-starred them in a live action environment. Directed by Chuck Jones and produced by Walt Disney, the film's screenplay was conceived by Looney Tunes writers Jones, William Hanna, Joseph Barbera, Walter Lantz and Friz Freleng. The film depicts Mickey and Minnie Mouse as they embark on a cross-country trip to Hollywood, California. Along the way, they encounter several of the Looney Tunes—who all share the same ambition of finding success in professional show business—while being pursued by Doc Hopper (Charles Durning), an evil restaurateur with intentions of employing Mickey and Minnie as spokespeople for his frog legs business. The Looney Tunes Movie was actually meant to act like an ending to both the Looney Tunes short film series and ''The Looney Tunes Show'' TV series, but both the critical reception and box office success of the movie prompted Disney and Warner Bros. to continue the franchise for the years to come. Notable for its surreal humor, meta-references and prolific use of cameos, The Looney Tunes Movie was released in the United Kingdom on May 31st, 1985 and in the United States on June 22nd, 1985, and received universal acclaim; including two Academy Award nominations for Paul Williams' musical score and his song, "Let There be Dreamers". In 2009, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. Plot The Looney Tunes, accompanied by Walt Disney (Himself), have gathered in the Walt Disney Studios, to screen their new biographical film, The Looney Tunes Movie. In the film-within-a-film, Mickey Mouse enjoys a relaxing afternoon in a lake, strumming his banjo and singing "Let There be Dreamers", when he is approached by Bernie (Dom DeLuise), a Hollywood talent agent who encourages Mickey to pursue a career in show business. Inspired by the idea of "making millions of people happy", Mickey sets off on a cross-country trip to Los Angeles, but is soon pursued by entrepreneur Doc Hopper (Charles Durning) and his shy assistant Max (Austin Pendleton) in an attempt to convince Mickey to be the new spokesman of Hopper's struggling French-fried frog legs restaurant franchise, much to Mickey's horror. As Mickey continuously declines his offers, Hopper resorts to increasingly vicious means of persuasion. Meeting Bugs Bunny, who works as a hapless comedian in the El Sleezo Cafe, Mickey invites Bugs to accompany him. The two set out in a 1951 Studebaker loaned to Bugs by his uncle. The duo’s journey includes misadventures which introduce them to a variety of eccentric human and Looney Tunes' characters, including Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse and their owner Granny, who receives a copy of the script from the pair (one of a number of self-references) at an old Presbyterian church; Daffy Duck and Donald Duck, two cousins who work as plumbers, and Donald's girlfriend Daisy Duck; the Warner Siblings, three maniacal dog siblings who try to drive Mickey and Bugs to madness; Porky Pig, an unlucky pig; Goofy Goof, who runs after them after they mistakenly think that he has turned them down at a used car lot; Rita and Runt, a cat and a dog searching for a home, and the immediately love-stricken Minnie Mouse at a fair. They even come across Scooby-Doo and his friends, whom have their Mystery Machine broken and in need of repair. While Mickey and Minnie form a relationship over dinner that night, Doc Hopper and Max kidnap Minnie and use her as bait to lure Mickey into a trap. Using an electronic cerebrectomy device, scientist Professor Krassman (Mel Brooks) decides to brainwash Mickey in an attempt to force Mickey to perform in Doc’s commercials until an infuriated Minnie knocks out Doc Hopper's henchmen and causes the scientist to be brainwashed by his own device. After receiving a job offer, however, she promptly abandons a devastated Mickey. After an incident in the theater where the projector briefly breaks down, with film tangled around Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, who were the projectionists, which causes the Tasmanian Devil to throw a wild temper tantrum and rip off a chunk of his own seat cushion, the film starts up again. Having been joined by Foghorn Leghorn and Barnyard Dawg and reunited with Minnie, the Looney Tunes continue their journey to Hollywood. Bugs' 1946 Ford Woodie station wagon trade-in breaks down in the New Mexico desert. During a campfire that night, the group sadly considers that they may miss the audition the next day, and Mickey wanders off, ashamed of himself for seemingly bringing his friends on a fruitless journey. Upon consulting a more optimistic vision of himself, Mickey remembers that it was not just his friends' belief in the dream that brought them this far, but also his own faith in himself. Reinvigorated, he returns to camp to find that the Granny have read the script in advance, and arrived to help them the rest of the way. Just as it seems they are finally on their way, the group is warned by Max that Doc Hopper has hired an assassin named Snake Walker to kill Mickey. Mickey decides he will not be hunted down by a bully any longer and proposes a Western-style showdown in a nearby ghost town occupied by the duo Pinky and the Brain, who invent materials that have yet to be tested. While confronting Hopper, Mickey explains his motivations, attempting to appeal to Hopper’s own hopes and dreams, but Hopper is unmoved and orders his henchmen to kill him and all his friends. They are saved only when one of the Brain's inventions, "insta-grow" pills, temporarily turns Taz into a giant, causing Hopper and his men to flee while Max turns around, laughs gleefully and waves his hat at the Looney Tunes. The Looney Tunes proceed to Hollywood, and after getting by his secretary, Miss Tracy (Cloris Leachman), via causing her allergic reactions to their dander and fur, are hired by producer, director, writer, actor and studio executive Orson Welles (himself). The Looney Tunes attempt to make their first movie involving a surreal pastiche of their experiences. The first take goes awry when Daffy and Donald, holding pastiche versions of the balloons he flew away on earlier, crashes into the rainbow, breaking it in half and sending it falling onto the rest of the set, bringing it down as well, then Sylvester pulls two levers in the control room, which overloads the electricity circuits and causes enough of an explosion to blow a hole in the roof of the studio. However, in their stunned silence of the whole chain of events, light suddenly shines through the hole into the studio right onto the Looney Tunes. The Looney Tunes sing the final verses of "Let There be Dreamers". Cast *Charles Durning as Doc Hopper *Austin Pendleton as Max *Scott Walker as Snake Walker *Lawrence Gabriel Jr as Sailor *Ira F. Grubman as Bartender *H.B. Haggerty as Lumberjack *Dom DeLuise as Bernie *James Coburn as El Sleezo Café Owner *Madeline Kahn as an El Sleezo Patron *Telly Savalas as El Sleezo Tough *Carol Kane as "Myth" *Paul Williams as El Sleezo Pianist *Chuck Jones as Mad Man Mooney *Elliott Gould as Compère *Edgar Bergen as Himself and Charlie McCarthy *Bob Hope as Ice Cream Vendor *Frank Welker as Frankie Weller *Richard Pryor as Balloon Vendor *Steve Martin as Insolent Waiter *Mel Brooks as Professor Max Krassman *Cloris Leachman as Miss Tracy *Orson Welles as Himself *Bruce Kirby as Gate Guard *Tommy Madden as One-Eyed Midget *James Frawley as El Sleezo Café Waiter *Arnold Roberts as Cowboy *Melinda Dillon as a Woman with Balloon *Walt Disney as Himself Voice Cast *Wayne Allwine as Mickey Mouse *Janet Waldo as Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck and Chip *Mel Blanc as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Sylvester Pussycat, Tweety Bird, Yakko Warner, Tom Cat, Jerry Mouse, the Tasmanian Devil, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Marvin the Martian, Pinky and the Brain *June Foray as Lola Bunny, Petunia Pig, Dot Warner and Granny *Clarence Nash as Donald Duck *Tony Pope as Goofy Goof *Don Messick as Pluto *Elvia Allman as Clarabelle Cow *Grace Stafford as Woody Woodpecker, Chilly Willy and Andy Panda *Stan Freberg as Wakko Warner and Dale *Will Ryan as Peg-Leg Pete *Daws Butler as Spike Bulldog *Alan Young as Scrooge McDuck Soundtrack *Let There be Dreamers Trivia *The movie is dedicated to Orson Welles, who passed away the year the movie was released. *This was also Clarence Nash's final role as Donald Duck, since he died a few months before its release. This film was dedicated to his memory. **In some scenes, Donald Duck is voiced by animator Tony Anselmo, taking over the role after Nash's death. *The film marks the first appearances of Pinky and the Brain, who would later appear in the 1990s episodes of The Looney Tunes Show. *The original title of the movie was The Looney Tunes Begins. Category:What if Walt Disney was the producer of Looney Tunes Category:What if Walt Disney was the producer of Looney Tunes/Movies